Relegation
by pointer39
Summary: A what-if/AU story that cuts off from canon when Padmé falls out of the gunship. Anakin disobeys his master and jumps out to stay by her side… this changes the Star Wars universe in more ways than one would think.
1. Geonosis

**Relegation**

**_A/N: _****Hello all. This is my very first Star Wars fic and hope yall will enjoy! I recently moved into a new home and came across the star wars movies in a box out of storage… so I just re-watched all 6 movies and an interesting idea hit me; I can't stop thinking about it. Too many ideas have been floating in my head, so I decided to come out and write it.**

**This is Relegation, a what-if/AU story that cuts off from canon when Padm****é**** falls out of the gunship. Anakin disobeys his master and jumps out to stay by her side… this changes the Star Wars universe in more ways than one would think. **

**The writing will be more so mine after this chapter, I had to take a bit of a ride on canon here but it's not exactly the same. Beyond that, all I can say is… see for yourself :) and once again, enjoy!**

An indescribable amount of laser fire, rockets and smoke flourished throughout the rocky desert terrain of Geonosis. A battle had been ignited in thanks to a dangerous group of separatists, led by the Sith lord known as Count Dooku and Viceroy Gunray of the Trade Federation. After holding Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi and his padawan learner Anakin Skywalker as well as Naboo senator PadméAmidala captive and forcing them to fight for their lives in an arena unarmed for the entertainment of the Geonosians… The Jedi could not ignore the separatist threat any longer. Master Windu led all available Jedi on a rescue mission and survived long enough for Master Yoda to arrive with an enormous force of clone troopers, the new army of the republic.

It was hard to believe how fast all of this occurred, in mere hours the galaxy went from political disagreement and separatism to a civil war. All of this was unlikely to unfold in the fashion it did if not for Count Dooku, eliminating him could be the republic's only hope to possibly avoid years of bloodshed. (Or in the seps' case sparks)

"Aim above the fuel cells," Anakin instructed the pilot.

"Right away sir." The clone typically replied in absolute obedience.

A volley of rockets soared from the gunship and collided with the fuel cells just as the Techno Union craft attempted to take off and exploded. That ship wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon.

"Good call my young padawan." Master Obi-Wan commended.

Anakin simply nodded. His thoughts were lurking elsewhere though. It was up to Obi-Wan to decide where the gunship would land and where they were to help the clone forces. What troubled Anakin was Padmé. This was a warzone… he was lucky that he managed to protect her throughout the duration of the arena battle.

"There, it's Dooku!"

That got Anakin's attention. "Shoot him down!" He commanded the pilot once again.

"We're out of rockets sir."

"Follow him!"

Dooku was riding a speeder bike, two Geonosian fighter escorts slowly trailing behind him. He turned his head and saw the gunship then waved a hand sign to his escorts. Both Geonosian fighters broke formation and regrouped behind the gunship and began firing on them.

One particular shot hit the hull pretty cleanly and shook the ship. Padmé and one of the clones aboard the ship actually fell out. Anakin hurriedly moved to the edge to see where she landed. Both she and the clone hit the ground hard, hard enough to knock them unconscious. Anakin watched, his heart in agony as she rolled down a sandy hill.

"Padmé!" Anakin cried. "Put the ship down!" He angrily demanded.

"Anakin! Don't allow your personal feelings to get in the way!"

"I can't just leave her master!"

"Search your feelings Anakin! I can't take Dooku alone; I need you! What would Padmé do if she were in your position?" Obi-Wan asked. He was met by a moment of silence as Anakin thought it over.

"Follow that speeder." The Jedi Knight stated as confirmation for the pilot not to turn around.

_I can't… I just can't leave her like that. There's no telling what might happen to her! She could be found by battle droids or Geonosians and taken away as a hostage. She's a member of the Galactic Senate… that's a valuable hostage. Besides… if she fell into the hands of the Trade Federation and Viceroy Gunray found out she'd be executed for what happened ten years ago. _Anakin reasoned with himself, even though he knew all too well there was more to it than that. He loved her…

"I… I'm sorry master." He stated. Obi-Wan began to turn around to ask him what he meant but it was too late. Anakin dived out of the gunship, ultimately choosing Padmé over pursuing Dooku.

"Blast it. Why doesn't he ever listen to me when I need him to the most!?" Obi-Wan grumbled.

The Geonosian fighters still weren't letting up on the gunship. "You two," he called attention to the couple remaining clones standing by him.

"Sir?"

"Do you think you can take out those fighters using the beam cannons?"

"Yes sir, the only reason we haven't is because they don't rotate three-hundred-sixty degrees, they are useless against pursuing crafts."

"And that is why the pilot is going to halt his pursuit of Count Dooku." Obi-Wan stated making sure the pilot could hear as well.

* * *

><p>The clone lowered his weapon as he realized it was not a threat… but one of the two Jedi he was just serving.<p>

"Is she all right?" The Jedi hurriedly demanded.

"As far as I can tell sir. I'm not a medic, until she regains consciousness I won't be able to know for sure."

Anakin said nothing, his eyes lingered to Padmé's face… and he took in her beauty subconsciously.

"What shall we do sir?"

"Call for a transport to come pick us up… until then…" He paused in mid sentence to sit on his knees in the sand at her side. "We wait."

* * *

><p>Several trade federation Core ships prepared to take off, republic forces scrambling and doing their best to keep them from making it to outer space.<p>

"Focus all of your fire on the nearest starship."

The clones complied with the order as the commander passed word along to all of the main guns. The core ship took off but gravity would eventually catch up as the beams took their toll. The impact with the surface blew hundred-thousands of grains of sand throughout the surrounding battlefront. Clones and droids struggled to fight through their invisible targets, some super battle droids accidently destroying normal battle droids.

"Master Yoda. Master Kenobi is trying to contact you sir." The yellow and white armored commander informed.

"Then speak with him, I will." Yoda replied and followed the clone to where the transmission was being received.

He made his way to the holo-transmitter and saw Obi-Wan and a clone trooper or two… but no young Skywalker. "Master Yoda, I need help with Dooku! I can't take him alone, is there anyone who can get here quickly? We don't know where he is at the moment; we broke our pursuit to defend ourselves from the Geonosians. Right now we're attempting to search out possible destinations… he was on a speeder so at least we know he's still on the planet."

"Capture and defeat Dooku, we must." Yoda agreed with utmost seriousness. "Join you in person I will. Commander, bring me a ship."

"Right away sir."

* * *

><p>"Ugh…" Padmé moaned as she awoke.<p>

"Padmé! How are you feeling?" Anakin demanded, his hand lingering onto hers.

Suddenly Padmé remembered everything and sat up suddenly wide-awake. "What happened?" she queried confusingly.

"You fell out the gunship… I disobeyed Obi-Wan and jumped out… to protect you." Anakin explained. His voice was clearly of a mixture of feelings. He wanted to guard her with his life, be with her in the moments she _needed _him. But at the same time, he knew what he had done and what it would mean after this Geonosis fiasco was over with.

"Ani…" Padmé began. She also knew what this meant.

Anakin looked down into the sand. "I know…" he paused. "Let's not worry about it right now… first thing's first you're all right and Dooku is still loose. If we hurry we might be able to catch up and help Obi-Wan. He suggested, his devotion to his master resurfacing.

"Another gunship should be arriving in a few more minutes, sir." The clone jumped in.

"Good… Let's just hope nothing's happened to him."

"Don't worry." Anakin reassured her. "Master Obi-Wan is fine… I can _feel _it."

* * *

><p>"Over there!" Obi-Wan pointed out. It was a Geonosian structure with a small dock and an open hangar. "Dooku is inside." Obi-Wan assured his clone outfit.<p>

"Should I land, sir?" The Pilot questioned.

_It might be a wise decision to bring them in with me… if these clones are anything at all like Jango they should be of some use._

"Yes… if there are any droids in there we'll need to take them out swiftly."

The LAAT pilot complied with the order and touched down. Master Kenobi jumped out with two clones and approached with caution. The clones kept their rifles pointed forward, taking their steps carefully as they entered the darkness of the Geonosian structure. Obi-Wan was just behind them, his lightsaber tightly within his grip.

The trio slowly worked their way down the tunnel-like place; eventually they made a left turn and sped the pace up a bit, though still remaining as quiet as possible as they could see light. "I hear something." One of the clones whispered.

_Engines._

Obi-Wan's eyes widened and he abruptly jumped into the room gaining attention from a few non-battle droids. All he could see was a Geonosian starfighter just as it exited the hangar.

"Blast it!" the frustrated Jedi shouted.

"Stop him!" One of the clones shouted through the comm link to the gunship.

"That ship is too fast we'll never catch him sir." The pilot responded.

Obi-Wan sighed. "Well… You've really gone and done it this time Anakin." He muttered.

* * *

><p><em>TimeskipAnakin's arrival on the scene_

"Proceed with caution."

"Yes sir, captain." The shiny armor clad clone troopers did just that with their unpainted armor.

The captain looked to his Jedi commander for guidance. "I sense Obi-wan… and…" he paused in thought. "Master Yoda." He realized.

"Sir?" The captain spoke.

"Relax troopers. Dooku isn't here."

"How can you be certain?" One clone asked.

"He's not here." He repeated and walked past them, more concerned with what happened since he… abandoned… his master. Padmé remained at his side, and the clone that had fallen out of the gunship with her earlier chose to also tag along… if his superior was still alive he'd likely be with the other two Jedi.

"Anakin…"

He glanced at her with a knowing and assuring expression. "This won't be the friendliest of conversations. But after we get this over with… we can start a whole new life… _together_."

He hugged her, failing to notice the tears threatening to stream out of her eyes like waterfalls. She wasn't as worried about the future as she was guilty that because of her an extremely talented Jedi was bound to be exiled for his actions. The clone stood there awkwardly, somewhat wishing he had stayed with the other clone squad instead of looking for his own.

"You need to relax Padmé…" he smiled, trying to comfort her as he sensed an immense amount of stress emulating itself off of her body. "Everything's going to be fine, trust me."

"Now let's go make sure Obi-Wan's all right." She nodded and followed his lead, the clone to his other side, simple happy to be out of that situation. They worked their way through the odd dark Geonosian structure, Anakin holding his lightsaber out of paranoia. It had been a pretty rough day and aside from still being alive not much had gone their way. They could see light and walked towards it, leading them inside the main hangar itself. Droids not programmed for battle were gathered in one of the corners of the room; a clone stood in front of them with his battle rifle, keeping them detained. Several other clones were busy elsewhere in the hangar, some spitting out orders to grunts.

"So you actually cared enough to show up Anakin."

"Master…" Anakin replied, turning to face Obi-Wan. "I'm sorry… I just couldn't-"

"I don't know where your head is, but thanks to you Dooku got away and now the entire galaxy is going to be in turmoil!"

Anakin was at a loss for words. He knew what his master was saying was basically true… after this there was bound to be a war to break out through the galaxy with these separatists.

"You're supposed to protect and keep peace! Not bring war to the entire galaxy!"

"Master, I couldn't leave her."

"Oh you couldn't? But you could _bring _her to Geonosis where she couldn't possibly be in more danger! You could get her engaged in a battle for her life in an arena surrounded by man eating monsters! _You _my young padawan, have put her in far more danger already than she was in when she fell out of the gunship!"

"Hey, that wasn't my idea!"

"I'm sure you had a looong argument about it." Obi-wan retorted, his voice full of sarcasm as he pictured his padawan ignoring the danger completely for the sake of adventure and an opportunity to save him again.

"That isn't fair…" Padmé quietly responded, understanding Obi-Wan's frustration but also irritated that he seemed to want to put all of the blame on Anakin.

"Skywalker…" Yoda intervened. "Your attachment to Senator Amidala is misplaced I'm afraid.

Anakin shifted uncomfortably, hesitant to explain to the Jedi council member.

"Speak your mind." The strange alien encouraged.

"During my assignment… protecting her on Naboo I… well.. I mean, we fell in love." He stated in the simple version. Obi-Wan stared speechless, his eyes shifting from his apprentice to the senator.

"It's the truth… and we're both prepared to accept the consequences." She said, backing her partner up.

"Know attachment is forbidden you do. Love between two especially. Remain a Jedi you cannot. Explain what will happen to you, I need not."

Padmé watched Anakin… he looked like he was in pain… mentally and emotionally his heart was crumbling before them. Shed a tear he did not, nor would he beg forgiveness or vow to train himself not to retain his attachment. He was that much in-love with her.

Obi-Wan watched on with mixed feelings of his own now… He was very frustrated with Anakin at the moment… but he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Were all those years of training for nothing? No, it was all worth it… the bond he shared with Anakin was even stronger than the bond he had with Qui-Gon.

"I sense a lot of confusion in you… be careful you must… to avoid a pathway to the dark side." Yoda warned.

"Not to worry master. I'll remain mindful of myself on Naboo." He smiled slightly at the mention of his spouse's beautiful homeworld as he glanced her way. This was the way Anakin wanted it. Sure, leaving behind the Jedi after his commitment over the years and the strong friendships he had made along with the memory of Qui-Gon saving him on Tatooine. All of the years he spent under Obi-Wan's tutelage… all of the memories he'd have from serving along his side… some of which he might prefer to forget such as the arena battle that occurred less than two hours ago. He would miss the life of a Jedi… the adventure… helping people who cannot help themselves… but he had been given a tough choice and he made a decision.

**_A/N: _****Story will improve and be more detailed and much more… my own from next chapter and further. Oh and give me a lil time to get used to writing the characters! I don't think I did bad but I didn't feel like I nailed em either. **

**Reviews appreciated send em please I need to know where my holes are! Plus… reviews are fuel! More reviews = more writing motivation! ;) **


	2. New Beginning

**Chapter 2**

**_A/N:_**** Hello all, I'm happy to post the second installment of Relegation for you today. I'd like to respond a guest review real quick since I cannot PM them.**

_Guest:__ I just don't buy your descriptions and actions for Padme. She is so duty bound and intelligent she never would have accepted and be ok with Anakin neglecting his duty just to be with her. Padme would rather they not be together if it meant jepordizing Anakins ability to to do his duty of protecting the Republic and being a Jedi. Your_

**I almost fully agree with you. This seems to be a failure on my part to present it how I intended. Padme was being supportive of Anakin when they were confronted by Obi-Wan/Yoda… however she doesn't really like what he did and wished he hadn't. On the flipside she was unconscious, she couldn't stop him obviously and now it's too late cause from the Jedi's point of view it is Anakin's attachment that possibly prevented them from getting Dooku. **

**Obviously in the movie they caught him and failed anyway, but the Jedi don't know any of that reality… and to them Anakin's actions could very well be the reason of the Clone Wars. Even Anakin is going to be bothered by this idea and it will show in early chapters. So basically she didn't _want _him to do that… but she's still going to support him.**

**I am overall very pleased with the response chapter 1 received! Hope everyone enjoys the update :)**

Anakin stood in the elevator in silence. It had been a very depressing morning on Coruscant. Anakin had been officially exiled; they brought him before the council for formalities sake. He knew this would happen the second he jumped out of that blasted gunship… but it was still very hard to take in. He was overwhelmed, and he had sensed that Padmé… in spite of this being for her… Was a little upset as well. Sure, she stood up for him and supported him in front of Obi-Wan and Master Yoda but she couldn't hide it from Anakin… that she wasn't pleased with his actions because of where they lead him.

The elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open and he started down the hallway. _I'll make it up to her… she'll come around. I can make her feel better about this I know I can._ Although Padmé was his immediate concern… he also was worried about Obi-Wan. Would he ever patch things up with his longtime friend and mentor? All of this _burned _in Anakin's mind as he approached the chambers of an old friend he wished to bid farewell before he left Coruscant. "Anakin! Greetings my friend! I'm pleased to see you made it off Geonosis without sustaining any major injuries."

Anakin smiled weakly. "Good morning Chancellor… and yes it was a gruesome battle… and I'm fortunate."

_I sense that something is troubling him…_ "What's the matter my Jedi friend?"

"Well that's actually what I've come to see you about." Anakin paused. "It might be awhile before you see me again."

"Why would you say that?" Palpatine asked, sitting down in his fancy chair and turning something off on his holoscreen.

"I've been exiled from the Jedi order."

"What!? They can't do that to you Anakin! After everything you've done!"

"No. They have every right, I broke the code and they must uphold it." Anakin defended.

"What kind of talk is that?" Palpatine disagreed. "You've shown how talented you are, you have indescribable potential… you Anakin… you are special. The Jedi must see that! This is nothing but an excuse to be rid of you Anakin! They _fear _what you could become someday."

_Why would the Jedi fear me… that doesn't make any sense. _He thought, ignoring the notion.

"It doesn't matter if I'm as strong as Master Yoda… I ditched my pursuit of Count Dooku to save Padme. I chose love over my duties and it endangered everyone- Even Obi-Wan." Anakin replied shamefully.

"You're in love with Senator Amidala?" Palpatine asked with interest.

Anakin looked down to the priceless carpets before answering. "We… had some time to connect during my mission protecting her on Naboo. We can't help it. Both of us attempted to deny our feelings for one another… both of us shoved those feelings away… and all it did was bring us even closer together."

"Anakin… the Jedi have wronged you my friend…" Anakin merely stared at him gesturing him to go on.

"I heard what happened to Senator Amidala… about falling out of the gunship." Palpatine lied. He actually probed this information from Anakin's mind… which Anakin wasn't blocking because he had no clue that the chancellor had any knowledge of the force.

"As a Jedi… it is your duty to protect. Isn't it?"

"Well yes, but-"

"But nothing." Palpatine interrupted bluntly. "You jumped out of a gunship and defended a galactic senator who could have been in grave danger… is it right that you are being punished because she is close to you?"

Anakin thought about it a moment. _No… it isn't right that I'm being punished… Jedi are supposed to protect… and she is a senator… What are you thinking Anakin? You KNOW that's a twist of perspective… if she was any other senator you would've listened to Obi-Wan and stayed put!_

"I suppose it's all a matter of perspective…" Anakin answered hoping the conversation would make a turn to a more favorable path.

"Perhaps." Palpatine agreed. "Well, I'm sorry to cut our visit short… but I have to get ready to go to the senate building. I hope you remember to come by next time you're in Coruscant."

Anakin smiled. "And you if you happen to be on Naboo." He stated before bowing.

"May the force be with you Anakin." _Someday… you will be mine Anakin Skywalker…_

Anakin smiled again. "Thank you Chancellor."

* * *

><p>"It's imperative that we send clones to defend as many systems as possible as quickly we can." Ki-Adi-Mundi stated.<p>

"Agree I do… vulnerable the galaxy is to a separatist takeover as long as the republic does not have presence there. Master Yoda inputted.

"With a droid army… I doubt that the separatists will take long to get organized and go on the offensive. Master Windu added.

"Some planets will be more likely to be targeted early than others… we would be wise to decide which ones need extra fortification." Ki-Adi-Mundi noted.

"Hmm…" Master Yoda thought aloud. "Send Jedi to command the troops on those planets… we will."

Mace nodded. "I agree."

"That's a wise move, perhaps we should have a special council meeting to share which planets we believe the separatists will strike against first." Master Gallia suggested.

"All in favor?"

"Aye." The entire council agreed.

* * *

><p>"Anakin!" she greeted, hurriedly rushing over to the door to embrace him. "Are you all right…? I know that must've been hard for you to do and then you took longer than you said it would to come back. I was starting to get worried…"<p>

"I'm fine Padmé… the council didn't need much time to make their decision. It's not like I expected different."

"Then where've you been, Ani?" She asked, withdrawing from the hug.

"I decided to stop by the Chancellor's and say goodbye. He didn't know what was going on, after all."

"Oh, how did he take the news? Did you tell him about us?"

"I did, and he didn't seem to have a problem with it… he actually argued that the Jedi were using it as an excuse to get rid of me… he thinks they're scared of me."

Padmé gave him a quizzical look. "I don't think he's right of course… there's no logical reason why the Jedi would allow me to be trained all these years if they were afraid I would betray them. It was… an interesting viewpoint he saw." Anakin continued.

"That's crazy… you've been training to become a Jedi for a decade. And you've said it yourself: 'attachments are forbidden.' They banished you because it was what they had to do."

Anakin nodded. "You're right. The chancellor must've just been frustrated to hear I wouldn't be around anymore… he's always thought I had a lot of potential. He's watched over me with interest over the years, you know? He's been a good friend."

They stood at the window in silent thought for a moment, Anakin still thinking about the chancellor's bizarre claim. Padmé got lost in thought as well… but in a different way.

"What's troubling you Padmé?" Anakin spoke up, sensing that she still hadn't relaxed since he walked in. He had initially thought she was merely tense because she was concerned about him as she had expressed… but that stress wasn't dissipating. "You can't hide your feelings from me, you know?"

She sighed in defeat. "I just… I feel…"

"Yes?" He urged.

"I feel guilty Ani."

"Guilty? For what?"

"If it wasn't for me… you wouldn't… you…you" she stuttered.

"Would still be a Jedi? Yeah probably… or I could be dead by the hands of Count Dooku following Obi-Wan and I's pursuit. Who knows. Who cares. At least we made it out of that _mess_… alive… and together." He smiled towards the end.

"But this is exactly why I tried not to let us be together in the first place! I said it would jeopardize your allegiance to the Jedi, and look what happened! And now… the Jedi need you more than ever!"

"I don't care."

"YES, yes you do whether you want to admit it or not."

"NO, I don't!" He replied, angrily. "I'd love to remain a Jedi, but I love you more! If the Jedi won't let me have both… then I choose you! Which is exactly what I did!"

She got close to him again. "I'm sorry Ani… I just hate feeling like I took ten years of your life away!"

"It's okay…" he softened. "I enjoyed it, I did a lot of good things and if I hadn't been a Jedi I wouldn't have been assigned to be your protection… which means we probably never would've had the chance to be together anyway. And we certainly wouldn't have survived in the arena!" He chuckled. "But that's all in the past… let's think about _ou_r future instead."

* * *

><p>Obi-Wan was exhausted. He had very little sleep since they fought the separatists on Geonosis. It wasn't Geonosis that troubled him though… it was Anakin. He had bonded with him, trained him, and spent a lot of time with him since he was a small boy that he originally was against the idea of training. They had a brief conversation after the council made his exile official but Anakin said he had a few things to do before meeting up with Padmé so they could head back to Naboo.<p>

This night however… Obi-Wan fell asleep the second he laid down. Lack of sleep over the past several days was the likely reason. But when he passed out… he would immediately wish he hadn't…

_**Dream**_

_Ray shields?_ He thought confusingly as he gazed through the translucent but impenetrable shields. A familiar looking figure was knelt to the ground, peaceful looking… just waiting for the shields to deactivate.

_Oh no… no this was bad enough when I lived it in real life!_ He thought, quickly recognizing it was a dream. Err… nightmare would be more accurate.

Just beyond the familiar frame of is master… was an impatient dark entity wearing all black and covered in face paint. He was pacing back and forth… also waiting for the shields to deactivate in order to resume our duel.

_This is just a dream Kenobi… you don't have to suffer through this twice! Just run faster this time!_ He told himself.

Each ray shield began deactivating temporarily one by one suddenly. Qui-Gon and Darth Maul ignited their lightsabers and resumed the battle. Disregarding patience completely, Obi-Wan anxiously sprinted as the very nano-second he had a clear path to join the fray. He worked down the hallway as fast as he could. _I'll make it this time Master… even if it is a dream…_

He kept his promise, bursting out of the hallway and igniting his sky colored lightsaber. Maul and Qui-Gon's blades locked and Maul made a gesture with his free hand, launching Qui-Gon's young apprentice back into the hallway. He hurriedly got back up knowing what was about to happen but was too late. The ray shields were back up. _Blast it! How could I have possibly not seen that coming! _

Qui-Gon and Maul resumed the familiar sequence of strikes at one another that were all too familiar to Obi-Wan. _Perhaps I didn't see it coming… cause that didn't actually happen so I didn't expect it…_

Obi-Wan watched dreading the inevitable. Maul struck down his old master again… in the exact same moves as the real one had ten years ago. Maul then spun around awaiting the ray shield to allow Obi-Wan passage. Master Kenobi felt the pain eat away at him… this was not a memory he wished to _relive_ like this. _I've failed you again master… I can't even save you in my dreams it would seem!_ He thought… gripping his lightsaber tight with frustration.

**_Reality**_

Obi-Wan awoke hyperventilating. He grabbed a glass of water from the nightstand to his left and guzzled it entirely. "I'm so sorry master." He muttered. _Why am I having dreams about Qui-Gon and Maul all the sudden?_ He thought in remorse.

_ Is this how Anakin feels about his situation right now? If it is… I've indeed failed him._


	3. Infiltration

**Chapter 3: Infiltration**

**_A/N: _****Well here I am with chapter 3 =) Finally -.- Yeah I wanted this out days ago… and a lot longer actually… but real life has kept me from doing so; which is why I chose to cut it off even though the battle isn't completely done. It won't screw with the flow or anything, chapter 4 will have plenty to write about for this battle still. **

**We'll also visit Anakin and Padmé next chapter because I don't want to brush them off to chapter 5… when I was originally going to make chapter 4 all for them. **

**Anyhow, I hope everyone enjoys the chapter =)**

The alarm eerily blasted out of nowhere, startling many sleeping clones abruptly in their quarters spread out around the Republic base. "Attention! Attention all troops! Base is under attack! This is not a drill! Repeat! Base is under attack!"

"_Shit!"_ Commander Cody groaned, shoving the covers aside and jumping out of bed. He suited up quickly as he could into his white and orange armor, slumping his back against the wall as he ducked for cover inside his own closet hearing _his _door open suddenly. He grabbed a blaster pistol slowly bringing it up, expecting for battle droids to find him at any moment. "Commander?..."

Cody sighed with relief. "Over here," he revealed. He stepped out to find a trio of clones armed with blaster rifles, two of them were pure white armor and the third one was identical with the exception of an orange star painted on his right shoulder pad. The orange-star trooper was Sergeant Wade, Cody knew.

"Wade, sitrep." Cody demanded.

"Battle droids have infiltrated and began overrunning the base. They re-purposed their 'boarding-craft' to break through our lines effectively and burst through the walls in various key locations. They took control of command rather quickly and somehow prevented the alarm from being sounded immediately. Communications have been jammed… which means any clone that isn't close enough to be awoken by the noise of the 'boarding craft's' entrance… could quite possibly still been asleep." Cody mentally inferred that was what happened to him.

"General Kenobi sent me to find you; he was going to lead the men we gathered to recapture the command room."

"It would appear he's managed that," Cody stated, indicating the alarm. "We need to get to command immediately." He decided. "How much resistance can we expect?"

"Like I said sir, they're overrunning the base!" Wade restated.

"Sir…" One of the other two clones spoke up. "We'd be taking a risk of exposure to the battle going on outside which could lead to a starfighter crashing into us or something… but we could try the roof… Might be easier than navigating the halls and watching each other's backs for droids constantly," He suggested.

Cody considered things a moment and nodded. _It's unlikely that the seps' are going to fire any cannon shells or other heavy weapons at the base… they wouldn't have used boarding craft in this manner had they intended to simply blow it to hell. No, they wish to capture this base… which makes the roof less hazardous than it could be. _

"Worth a shot," He agreed. "Take point, Wade."

"Yes sir!" The sergeant obeyed.

"All clear," he called as the other three clones joined him in the hallway. They followed Wade towards the closest elevator.

* * *

><p>Obi-Wan scratched his beard, gazing out the window as AATs pushed the republic line of defense back and up above explosions could be seen as lights flickered between clone frigates and Banking-Clan frigates.<p>

"Sergeant," Obi-wan called.

"Sir?"

"Have we heard back from Wade yet?"

"Negative sir. I strongly suggest we comb the base for droids before-"

"I'm afraid the base is already lost sergeant," the general responded, watching the AATs continue to inch their way closer and closer.

"I was hoping to give them a chance to gather all of the sleeping troops," the sergeant stated.

"As was I- But we need to order a retreat immediately." Obi-Wan decided. "Relay the order out to the commanding officers; tell them to put fourth an effort to regroup at the capital."

"Yes sir," he complied.

Before the trooper left to obey the order however… he, Obi-Wan and several clones in the room looked around confusingly upon hearing a strange banging noise. Several grabbed a gun if they hadn't one in their hands prior, and Obi-Wan ignited his lightsaber, expecting droids to burst out of one of the walls at any given moment. A small square of the ceiling popped out and dropped to the ground. The clones took aim but held fire at the voice of Cody.

"_Hold_ your fire!" He demanded, having anticipated this sort of reaction from the other troops. "We're coming down!" He announced, gesturing for the three accompanying him to dive in and following.

"Good to see you're all right, sir." The sergeant to Obi-Wan's side greeted with relief.

"Thanks but I don't think any of us are all right at the moment," Cody declared.

"Quite right. We've got a job to do here now go relay those orders sergeant," he reminded the other clone before addressing Cody.

"Glad you could make it Cody. You're just in time for us to retreat," Obi-Wan stated sarcastically.

"Can't say I'm too surprised… We saw the tanks closing in," Cody responded. "Do you have an escape plan, sir?" He then asked.

Obi-Wan scratched his beard once more. "Yes actually. It seems low-risk high-reward to me but we can't do it without oxygen tanks."

"Sir?" Cody stated to show confusion.

"We're going to escape through the water. It should get us off their tracks long enough to get far away from here and work our way to the capital and meet up with the rest of our forces; we'll be able to get there relatively unscathed… its thankfully in the opposite direction of the tanks and other droid forces," Kenobi explained. "If we don't have oxygen tanks… then we'll have to try something more dangerous I suppose."

Cody nodded in understanding. "Wade, go retrieve as many oxygen tanks as you can possibly find…"

* * *

><p>Things had went to plan, about thirty clone troopers were underwater, flashlight attachments turned on as they slowly half-walked, half-swam at the bottom of the ocean relying on a computerized map outline to help judge when to make turns. The clones were still at alert, for the possibility of the droids finding them in spite of Obi-Wan's seemingly brilliant plan. It wasn't twenty minutes of walking when one of the clones sent ahead was spotted "running" back to the rest of the group freaking out. "Turn off your flashlights! Turn off your flashlights! All of you! NOW!"<p>

"You heard him! Off!" Cody helped him.

The clones' helmets enabled them to still speak. Obi-Wan was using the same A99 aquata-breather that he'd been using since he became a padawan and he had no choice but to sit tight and listen.

Eventually all of the clones had their lights off, and then began the interrogation. "What the hell did you see, trooper?"

"Trade Federation subs, several of them. I counted at least six, there could be more in a separate group or perhaps even scouts… if they find us we're-"

The clone was interrupted and everyone turned as several laser shots sprayed the area of the nearest and now visible sub. _Those were starfighter shots… Looks like we've received some unexpected backup. _Kenobi thought. _Perhaps we don't have to continue this course of action then._ He ventured, becoming consumed by some ideas and possibilities popping in his head.

"Sir, what are your orders?" One of the clones asked Cody, well aware Obi-Wan was unable to speak up.

Cody hesitated with a reply, and looked to his General despite knowing he wouldn't get an answer. Which was the very reason why he was so stunned to hear Obi-Wan's voice. _You and your men stay here… I'll come back for you later. Don't leave unless your oxygen supply runs low… which would mean something went terribly wrong for me to take so long._

Cody was about to reply but didn't get the chance. _Don't bother saying anything I'm speaking to you with my mind… no one else can hear me you'll just confuse everyone. Remember what I said, and may the force be with all of you._

A stunned Cody and his men were left behind as General Kenobi began swimming in the direction of one of the TF subs. Some clones were about to follow but Cody raised his hand up in a closed fist. "Hold position. And stay alert," he ordered and sat down up against a rock with his weapon ready if needed.

* * *

><p><em>They're stopping… <em>Obi-Wan realized. All of the subs halted in a specific formation and after a brief moment of seeming to be doing absolutely nothing, rose to the surface and began launching rockets presumably towards either the Republic's base or ground based vehicles that may have shown up along with the starfighters that he and the clones hadn't expected to show up. _Well, that will make this less difficult. _Obi-Wan mused, staring at the conveniently stationary subs and swam up before he wasted the opportunity. Kenobi pulled out his lightsaber and ignited it before jamming it into the sub. _This is so reckless! _He scolded himself. _This is something I'd expect from Anakin not myself! _He inwardly ranted as he began to cleave a circle into the side of the TF sub.

As the circle became complete, he pushed hard on the thick armored circle but couldn't seem to bust thorough it. _The water… _he considered. _The water only makes this more difficult than it already is; its creating extra friction. _He closed his eyes and focused on the living force instead. If he couldn't break in on his own, then perhaps the force would allow him passage. He thrust his arms forward, fighting the resistance of the water that slowed him and then manipulated it. The force blasted through the circular outline his lightsaber had provided him and water consequently flooded into the sub causing an alarm to sound. The flood carried Obi-Wan inside with it -as he had planned- Obi-Wan looked back to the hole which effectively locked itself up with an emergency patch reminiscent to blast doors. It was quite similar to that of what patches up a starship if one were to shatter a window.

It was a good thing Obi-Wan wasn't claustrophobic; he'd go mad in the confined nature of a submarine. He could barely stand perfectly straight and he was almost certain he could touch the walls at both his sides if he stretched out his full arm-span. _Left or right?_ He considered. Deciding which direction would lead him to the bridge; he turned right and started down the hallway. Obviously he was soaking wet, and the water which flooded inside was still up to his knees, although it was being drained quite slowly by the Trade Federation vehicle's design.

Kenobi had nearly forgotten about the alarm and was _almost _surprised to see the doors open before he got there to be greeted by battle droids that promptly stepped into the hallway single filed. It would seem the narrow halls were actually of use to Obi-Wan. With the thrust of a hand, the droids were force pushed into each other back through the doorway into what could literally be described as a 'droidpile.'

Using his Jedi powers to dash through the doorway in the blink of an eye, he ignited his weapon and stuck the blade through the chest of the nearest droid, penetrating and then piercing two more behind it. He pulled it back and performed too quick slashes to destroy the remaining three.

"Guess that makes it a scrap pile," he joked, but his slight smile and humor disappeared when realization came to him that no one was there to make a remark at his lame joke.

Sighing at the thought of his absent padawan he moved along. _Come now Obi-Wan, you have a job to do. _He lectured himself, which ironically had the opposite effect he intended for it to have. _That sounds like something I'd be saying to Anakin right about now…_ Kenobi shook it off; he _did _have a job to do. Now was not the time to dive into his conflicting feelings about Anakin's exile.

He proceeded the task at hand, searching for the bridge. He was about to turn a corner but halted as he heard droid voices. He peeked his head around the wall and caught a glimpse of two battle droids and a super.

"Did you hear what the alarm was about?" One asked the others.

"Water leak; a squad was sent to investigate," the super replied.

"I wonder how that happened…" the third droid spoke.

"I may have a theory," Obi-Wan sarcastically offered, acquiring the attention.

They each tried to take aim at the Jedi general but he was already upon them swirling the lightsaber and taking them with ease. In just two swipes he literally dis_arm_ed each of them. He slashed through the super and one of the others cutting them down before spinning it and finishing the final one with a backwards stab. He glanced around. _No one else is here. _He decided and deactivated his lightsaber.

* * *

><p>"Sir," a clone called approaching his commander.<p>

"What is it?" Cody asked.

"I'm disturbed by our course of action sir."

Cody just stared in response so the clone went on.

"Obviously unexpected reinforcements have arrived… and yet, we're just sitting here doing absolutely _nothing_!" He seethed, nearly losing control of his composure at the end of the sentence.

"I commend your enthusiasm trooper… but we _will_follow General Kenobi's orders and await his return," He responded. "Period." There was no room for discussion.

* * *

><p>A pair of super battle droids were all that was between Kenobi and the bridge. <em>This ought' to be amusing. <em>He thought as an almost ridiculous plan formed in his mind.

Revealing his presence, he jumped out from his hiding place and pretended to be shocked. "_Super _battle droids!" He shouted in a mockingly fearful voice. "I surrender!" He exclaimed, tossing his lightsaber sending it skidding across the floor.

The super battle droids' aim was locked on Obi-Wan's head, and they exchanged a glance to each other. The Jedi's actions were most illogical.

"You're under arrest," One of them declared. The supers cautiously moved in on their Jedi prisoner. Kenobi kept his arms raised in the air where they could see him, trying to sell the surrender notion.

One of the droids gave him a shove and told him to start walking as the blast doors of the bridge opened. A Neimoidian laughed as he was brought into the room. The smirking fool ordered for the blast doors to be closed once more and told a droid to do a roll check around the sub to find out exactly how many droids Obi-Wan had destroyed.

"No match for the droid army you Jedi!" He chuckled in glee.

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes; he hadn't expected anything more than a droid commander with the usual yellow paint.

"So… _Jedi_. I trust that you will enjoy your stay. The general will be most pleased to hear he has a Jedi prisoner under his jurisdiction!"

"A general?" Obi-Wan inquired curiously. _Nice information to know… _

"Yes. And thanks to you I am well due for a promotion to get closer up the ranks ladder myself," he gloated.

Obi-Wan had to suppress a laugh at the thought of this man being a general… it was bad enough he made it far up enough in the ranks to be ordering the droids around. For someone designated as a leader of any kind in a _war…_ it was unfathomable that he could seriously think that a Jedi was going to be detained by two droids…

Had Obi-Wan wanted, he could have sliced the droids into pieces and force his way through the blast doors with a few moments of cutting with his lightsaber… it wouldn't have been the first time. What Obi-Wan really wanted was the element of surprise. If he had done it the other way he would've had to deal with every droid in the bridge shooting at him the second he made it through. In this scenario however, he was in the bridge… most of the droids were focused on control panels doing their jobs. Only security droids designated by red paint were paying Kenobi any mind. That is… along with the two supers and the foolish neimoidian.

The neimoidian confidently approached Obi-Wan with force inhibiting shackles. _Well, at least I can tell he isn't capable of resisting the mind tricks. _He thought knowingly before waving his hand at the fool. "You don't want to restrain me. You wish to negotiate like civilized people."

The neimoidian stopped in his tracks with a blank gaze. "I don't want to restrain you… we should negotiate."

"My thoughts precisely, shall we sit down?" Obi-Wan asked politely without using the mind trick.

"Of course," the neimoidian agreed, leading him to a table and shooing a couple droids away from it.

"Um… sir…" one of the droids attempted to intervene.

"What is it?"

"He should be restrained, he is too dangerous."

"Don't question my command! I know what I'm doing!" He barked at the droid. Obi-Wan had to summon all of his willpower not to laugh at that very sentence. Feeling the need to get his mind off the ridiculousness he was watching before his eyes, he changed the subject.

"What did you say your name was?" He asked, knowing full well the idiot before him never mentioned it.

"Thuk Darud,"

"Well Thuk, I believe I have some rather generous terms of surrender for you,"

Thuk nodded. "Please, go on,"

"You will order a retreat from this battle so you can bring me to your general as a prize. As you said already… he'll be most pleased. He will likely care about me far more than any of my men. The way I see it… you're getting what you and your general want… and I'm in a way getting what I want as my men are given the opportunity to escape."

Thuk shook his head. "No, absolutely not! I cannot simply allow a bunch of clones to escape."

"But I'm more valuable to you than the clones. Holding onto me for the duration of the battle means I might escape. I am a Jedi, you know. Surely you see how that would pose a problem? If you agree to these terms… I will not attempt to escape and you will be guaranteed to turn me into your general."

Thuk pondered what he had just said. "How do I know this you'll follow through with your side of the bargain?"

"Because deception is not the way of the Jedi, surely you know this," he replied despite the irony of it.

Thuk Darud turned to the commander droid across the room. "Issue a retreat immediately!"

"Sir?"

"Our prisoner is more important than a few worthless clones! Now stop questioning my orders!"

"Roger roger," it complied.

_The separatists should really consider hiring more competent help… or perhaps stick to droids. So far the droids have actually been more fit to make decisions than Darud. Perhaps I'll have to look for a suggestion box when he takes me to the general. I wonder if the general is actually Dooku?_

Obi-Wan frowned. If that were the case… it might've been a grave mistake allowing himself to be brought to him like this… even if he wasn't restrained. _Well at least there's one bright side to this if it turns out to be Dooku._

* * *

><p>Cody and the clones had just resurfaced at realization that the shots ceased fire up above. Seeing the subs turn around and retreat was what tipped them off who won. What Cody couldn't understand was <em>why?<em> It seemed that even with the reinforcements the seps' weren't necessarily losing the battle it had just developed into more of an actual battle as opposed to a beat down. Upon hearing Kenobi's whereabouts were unknown, he somehow knew that the general had something to do with this…

**_A/N: _****Hope that was an enjoyable read! I can tell you I had a lot of fun writing it**

**Btw the TF sub is not something I made up; I know it isn't commonly seen so a lot of you might not have known about them. Anyhow I had fun writing this just wish I had more time because part of chapter 4 would've been in this chapter instead lol. Nonetheless see yall next time and please review :)**


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